Mayweather's record $41.5m purse finalised

Pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. will indeed receive a record purse of $41.5 million for his junior middleweight unification showdown with fellow titleholder Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The contract was filed on Wednesday with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, executive director Keith Kizer told ESPN.com.

Mayweather adviser Leonard Ellerbe revealed Mayweather's purse last week, but it was not official until the contract was filed with the commission.

Alvarez's contract calls for him to receive a fight-night check for $5m, Kizer said. However, the total is very misleading. Alvarez has been guaranteed millions more based on the massive revenue the Showtime PPV broadcast is expected to generate, according to his promoter, Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions.

While Schaefer would not say what Alvarez's minimum total was, a source involved in the promotion said he will earn at least $12m.

"He will end up making more than $5m," Schaefer said. "He is going to make a significant upside because of the pay-per-view. It doesn't matter that he is getting $5m [on the night of the fight] because he will make millions and millions more because I guaranteed him money on the pay-per-view, but I don't want to say how much."

Schaefer said the number of buys the pay-per-view has to sell for Alvarez to reach his upside figure is "a low number, so he will make a lot more than $5m."